Joshua 3:14 through 4:7 is our focus passage today. Please take time to read it. This passage takes place after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. The children of Israel are finally placing their feet on the land promised to their ancestors and to them years before. A swollen river stood between them and the Promised Land, we joined the story as the priests were putting their feet in the water. If you had been a child traveling with Israel what do you think you would have seen and experienced?
Have you ever experienced a time when God miraculously provided for you and your family? Record your story and be prepared to share it with your small group.
God wanted Israel to remember all that God had done for them, so He had them gather 12 stones from the center of the Jordan and set up an altar so that in generations to come when people saw the monument they would be told of all God did. The country you are in is filled with stone. The ancestors of the people you serve this week wanted their families to remember as well. . Pray that this week many of the people we serve will come to faith in Christ and begin their pilgrimage in the Promised Land God has for them.
Pray for wisdom, patience, understanding & love that we may be able to reach our children’s heart, especially those that tend to try us on a daily basis.

Week 3: God’s Glory
The first week of our study we focused on the existence of God and how we can see Him and His presence all around us. The second week,we studied about God’s persistence in pursuing us. This third week we will focus on His Glory and how we can glorify Him this week as we serve on mission. Please do this week of study while you are on the mission field.
Day 1
Please begin your time in the word by praying and asking God to reveal Himself to you. Read Exodus 33:18-23. What was Moses’ request in verse 18?
What was God’s response?
When I studied this passage there were a couple of words that just jumped off the page at me. Moses wanted to SEE God’s glory. God’s response was that He would PROCLAIM His name before him. To see God then we must be ready to hear and receive the proclamation of who God really is. In order to do that we need to read a little further. Please read Exodus 34:5-7 and list who God says that He is.
Praise God for who He is! Take a few minutes to list more character traits that reveal who God is.
Moses’ response to God is recorded in 34:8. Record how he responded.
As we approach our day of ministry today, ask God to reveal to you who He truly is and with a heart of reverence worship Him.

Please read John 13:1-17.
What example did Jesus set for His disciples?
Why do you think it is so difficult for us to serve other people?
How would you have felt knowing that one of the very one whose feet you were preparing to wash had already in his heart to betray you?
As I read through this passage I pondered many of these same questions. I don’t think I would have had trouble washing the feet of some of the disciples because they were heart friends. Jesus knew that they would be with Him through thick and thin even to the end, but a couple of them like Peter and Judas I might have had a little grudging feeling toward. Jesus set the example not just to serve those you favor, but to serve those who don’t always come up to your standard of approval as well.
In the days ahead we will be serving many. Please pray that you will have the heart of Christ as you serve. As outsider’s people will be watching every facial expression and movement you make. Remember that the gospel is not just communicated by words but by actions.

John 12:44-50 is a summary of Jesus’ mission here on earth. Please write in your own words what His mission was.
Jesus knew even before He started His ministry that there would be some who would not follow. He knew that many would be “good people”. Some were even religious leaders of their day. But the reality is that we are not willing to accept that Jesus was God’s Son and put their faith in Him for salvation. For some of them, they knew the scriptures and yet they walked in darkness. Verse 43 says, “For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.”
During our mission adventure we will come in contact with many people. They will come from every walk of life and some will be good people, but if they have not trusted Christ as Savior, they are lost and separated from Him. Jesus reminds us in verse 50 “God’s command is eternal life.” He will give us the words to say at the right time to encourage those without Him. He will do the convicting through His Holy Spirit. We are just the vessel He will use to proclaim the Light of the Gospel.
Please be prayed up and ready to give an answer for the Hope you have in Jesus. You may not be given an opportunity to share in words, but all will see your character and spirit while you are on this mission.

Please read John 8:2-12. Write down 5 things that stand out to you about the story.
Have you ever been caught red handed knowing what you had done was wrong? How did you respond? Jesus never condoned what the woman had done, far from it. He told her to go and turn from it, but his tender compassion toward the lady was noteworthy. Our human nature is not to forgive but to be much like the religious leaders wanting justice. God relentlessly pursues us to show us mercy, but His heart is that we turn from our ways. As we go to minister in the next few days, there will be many who are living where they know they should not be. Pray that we will express the same mercy Jesus did and that people we come in contact with will want to leave their old life for new life in Christ.
Before we set off on our adventure, take time today to purify your heart. Just like these religious leaders we all have our own sin that could and sometimes does so easily bind us. Ask God to set you free from the sin you are carrying and give you a pure heart ready to minister as God wills.

Please read John 4:6-26.
How would you describe the woman in the story?
I don’t know how you described the woman; I would say she was a master at deflecting the subjects Jesus wanted to talk to her about. Do you know of anyone who is a master deflector like her? Maybe you have tried to talk to them about spiritual things and instead they talked about the weather, basketball, even church but did not want to talk about the subject of their spiritual condition.
How did Jesus handle this with the woman?
It is important to find common ground with people to begin a conversation, but pointing people back to spiritual things will produce the result of sharing Christ. Pray that our conversations during our mission trip will lead those we minister to closer to salvation. Read John 4:39-42 to hear the rest of the story.

Week 2: God’s Persistence
Day 1
Please read John 3:1-21
When I began to ponder how God is persistent this encounter with Nicodemus came to my mind. When does verse 2 say Nicodemus came to Jesus?
Why do you think he came?
Nicodemus was a Pharisee and he would have ben ostracized for becoming a follower of Jesus. He came when he thought no one else would see him, but he also came because he desired to know about what Jesus had been teaching.
In your own words, write down what some of Nicodemus’ questions were.
How did Jesus respond to him?
It is not recorded whether Nicodemus believed Jesus as His Savior that night, but Jesus modeled what we are to do. We are just to tell people that God loves them and sent His Son to pay for our sin. Some will be like Nicodemus and need to ponder what they have been told. It is up to God to work in their hearts and bring them to repentance and salvation.
Please end your time today by praying for the many people we will come in contact with while we are on the mission field. Pray God will open up the doors for us to share and that they will respond to His invitation.

Day 5
Please read Luke 23:44-49. Describe the scene and what happened.
In your description did you include where the curtain of the temple was split? This curtain was a very holy piece of cloth that separated the rest of the temple from the most holy place. This was the part of the temple that was visited only once a year by a priest who was pure, and righteous. The Holy of Holies was behind the curtain and the Ark of the Covenant representing the place where God met man was contained there. When Jesus died, human hands from the bottom to the top did not tear the curtain. It was torn from the top to the bottom by the hand of God. He was representing that no longer was there a gulf between God and man. Jesus bridged that gulf by His death and that God no longer resided in that Holy of Holies, but He now would live in the hearts of men and women who believed in Him.
We can know the existence of God now not just by what we see in nature or read in His Word. We can know His existence by trusting Him and asking Him to reside within us. I love hymns. The chorus of one says,“He lives, He lives Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives, He lives salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives, HE LIVES WITHIN MY HEART.”
If you have never asked Jesus to be your Savior and Lord stop and do that now. Close your time with Him today thanking Him for the assurance of your salvation and that He lives in your heart today.

Day 4
Please read 1 Kings 18:20-24
What challenge was Elijah facing?
How do you see this same challenge facing you?
Elijah was a very bold prophet of God. In your own words summarize what happens in verses 25-39.
Elijah was bold, but his boldness was not in himself or in his own power. He had a bold faith that God would show He was the One True God! Why do you think we do not see this same kind of faith today?
Pray asking God to help you to have that same kind of boldness. Look for opportunities today to show that God is real and that He is the One true God!

Day 3
Please take a few minutes to read Genesis 6:5-22. Record what these verses reveal about God.
How do you see God’s mercy at work in these verses?
If you had been God what would your plan have been?
Read Genesis 9:12-17. What sign did God give to Noah? Even to this day what is the message of this sign?
No matter how evil our world seems to get, God is faithful in keeping His promises. The rainbow is a great reminder of God’s existence and His perseverance with us. Thank God today for His promises to us and for His unfailing love.